Suzan Frecon
Encyclopedia
Suzan Frecon is a contemporary artist who lives and works in New York. She is represented by Lawrence Markey, San Antonio and David Zwirner
, New York.
Frecon received a BFA from Pennsylvania State University
, University Park, Pennsylvania and subsequently studied painting at the University of Strasbourg
, Strasbourg, France and École Nationale Superiéure des Beaux Arts, Paris, France.
, New York was on view in the fall of 2010. On the occasion of the exhibition, a catalogue was published by Radius Books, Santa Fe, New Mexico. It features a text by art historian Joachim Pissarro as well as illustrations of her most recent large-scale oil paintings.
Other major solo exhibitions include the Menil Collection, Houston, Texas (2008), Kunstmuseum Bern, Bern, Switzerland (2006 and 2008), and The Drawing Center
, New York (2002). Her work has also been included in the Whitney Biennial
at the Whitney Museum of American Art
, New York in 2000 and 2010.
Frecon's works are represented in the permanent collections of prominent institutions, including the National Gallery of Art
, Washington, D.C.; The Museum of Modern Art
, New York; the Whitney Museum of American Art
, New York; the Menil Collection
, Houston; and the Fogg Museum in Cambridge, Massachusetts.
David Zwirner
David Zwirner is a gallerist and art dealer and owner of the David Zwirner Gallery in New York City. In 2010 Zwirner was listed at number four in the ArtReview annual "Power 100" list.-Early Life:...
, New York.
Frecon received a BFA from Pennsylvania State University
Pennsylvania State University
The Pennsylvania State University, commonly referred to as Penn State or PSU, is a public research university with campuses and facilities throughout the state of Pennsylvania, United States. Founded in 1855, the university has a threefold mission of teaching, research, and public service...
, University Park, Pennsylvania and subsequently studied painting at the University of Strasbourg
University of Strasbourg
The University of Strasbourg in Strasbourg, Alsace, France, is the largest university in France, with about 43,000 students and over 4,000 researchers....
, Strasbourg, France and École Nationale Superiéure des Beaux Arts, Paris, France.
Work
Suzan Frecon is an abstract painter who works with line and geometric shape using fluid, monochrome washes. She is critically acclaimed for her sensitive arrangement of color, form, and texture and for the philosophical resonance of her art. Her works are composed with subtle, interacting arrangements of color - usually earth toned - and which are applied with meticulous attention to the physical qualities of paint. Each work is the result of a thoughtful, laborious process in which the artist sketches and revises a composition, usually evolved from previous works. She then executes a "plan" rooted in geometric and volumetric calculations and precisely defined spatial relationships. She proceeds gradually, guided by intuition; the result is a complex amalgamation of preparation and instinct, order and chance. Pictorial associations are never intentional, and Frecon refuses to imbue her paintings with symbolic undertones. Her almost tactile use of color heightens the visual experience of her work, and depending on the light source and viewing angle, different perceptions emerge. Her forms change from positive to negative, and colors and surfaces vary in terms of density and reflexivity.Exhibitions
Frecon's first solo exhibition at David ZwirnerDavid Zwirner
David Zwirner is a gallerist and art dealer and owner of the David Zwirner Gallery in New York City. In 2010 Zwirner was listed at number four in the ArtReview annual "Power 100" list.-Early Life:...
, New York was on view in the fall of 2010. On the occasion of the exhibition, a catalogue was published by Radius Books, Santa Fe, New Mexico. It features a text by art historian Joachim Pissarro as well as illustrations of her most recent large-scale oil paintings.
Other major solo exhibitions include the Menil Collection, Houston, Texas (2008), Kunstmuseum Bern, Bern, Switzerland (2006 and 2008), and The Drawing Center
Drawing Center
The Drawing Center is a SoHo museum and the only nonprofit exhibition space in the United States to focus solely on the exhibition of drawings, both historical and contemporary.- Location and activities :...
, New York (2002). Her work has also been included in the Whitney Biennial
Whitney Biennial
The Whitney Biennial is a biennale exhibition of contemporary American art, typically by young and lesser known artists, on display at the Whitney Museum of American Art in New York City, USA. The event began as an annual exhibition in 1932, the first biennial was in 1973...
at the Whitney Museum of American Art
Whitney Museum of American Art
The Whitney Museum of American Art, often referred to simply as "the Whitney", is an art museum with a focus on 20th- and 21st-century American art. Located at 945 Madison Avenue at 75th Street in New York City, the Whitney's permanent collection contains more than 18,000 works in a wide variety of...
, New York in 2000 and 2010.
Frecon's works are represented in the permanent collections of prominent institutions, including the National Gallery of Art
National Gallery of Art
The National Gallery of Art and its Sculpture Garden is a national art museum, located on the National Mall between 3rd and 9th Streets at Constitution Avenue NW, in Washington, DC...
, Washington, D.C.; The Museum of Modern Art
Museum of Modern Art
The Museum of Modern Art is an art museum in Midtown Manhattan in New York City, on 53rd Street, between Fifth and Sixth Avenues. It has been important in developing and collecting modernist art, and is often identified as the most influential museum of modern art in the world...
, New York; the Whitney Museum of American Art
Whitney Museum of American Art
The Whitney Museum of American Art, often referred to simply as "the Whitney", is an art museum with a focus on 20th- and 21st-century American art. Located at 945 Madison Avenue at 75th Street in New York City, the Whitney's permanent collection contains more than 18,000 works in a wide variety of...
, New York; the Menil Collection
Menil Collection
The Menil Collection, located in Houston refers either to a museum that houses the private art collection of founders John de Menil and Dominique de Menil, or to the collection itself...
, Houston; and the Fogg Museum in Cambridge, Massachusetts.
Articles
- “Whitney Biennial: The Voices of Silence" by Todd Levin Flash Art, May/June 2010
- "2010" by Alex Gartenfeld Art in America online, April 21, 2010
- “Notes Toward a Conversation on Painting" by Lawrence Rinder Fillip, Spring 2010
- "Whitney Biennial 2010 Breakdown: The Old Guard" by Andrew M. Goldstein, Amber Vilas, and Andrew Russeth Artinfo.com, February 19, 2010
- "Suspense Artist" by David Cohen Art in America, September 2008
- Suzan Frecon in conversation with John Yau Brooklyn Rail, November 2005
External links
- Suzan Frecon at David Zwirner
- Selected Press at David Zwirner
- Suzan Frecon on Artnet
- Suzan Frecon: paintings 2006-2010 published by Radius Books, Santa Fe, New Mexico
- Suzan Frecon, 2010 Whitney Biennial Artist Whitney Museum of American Art, New York
- Works in the permanent collection The Museum of Modern Art, New York
- Form, Color, Illumination: Suzan Frecon Monograph published by Menil Collection, Kunstmuseum Bern, and Yale University Press 2008